Former Senegalese president Macky Sall has withdrawn his bid to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations, citing the outcome of preliminary voting among UN Security Council members and the need to build consensus around a successor.
Sall announced his decision on Saturday in a statement published on his official Facebook page, following an informal vote held on 16 October 2026. He said the results indicated that none of the seven candidates in the race had secured the support needed to avoid opposition from all five permanent members of the Security Council.
The five permanent members – the United States, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom – hold veto power over the appointment of the UN secretary-general. Sall said he decided to withdraw after consultations with Burundi’s President Évariste Ndayishimiye, chair of the African Union, and Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who chairs the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
In explaining his decision, the former president said the preliminary ballots suggested a preference for a candidate from Latin America and the Caribbean, potentially a woman.
Sall said his candidacy had been driven by a desire to bring nearly four decades of public service experience to the United Nations. He added that his withdrawal was intended to help the Security Council identify a consensus candidate to succeed António Guterres, whose term as secretary-general is due to end in 2026.
